classes: pretty paper. true stories. {and scrapbooking classes with cupcakes.}

This Monday, the 21st, marks the first day of a new run of Blogging for Scrapbookers, an online class all about how blogs and scrapbooks are not all that different. It’s not to late to join us! If you’re thinking about it, here are ten reasons to jump on board!

Write with meaning.
There are blog posts that say a little and there are blog posts that say a lot. You know the posts you have read that made you really sit back and rethink something or even physically nod in agreement? The sort of reading material that captures your emotions? We’ll break down just how easy it can be to move your blog from a list of things that have happened to something that captures your true feelings and captivates your readers.

Keep in touch.
Have friends and family far away and wish you could keep them up to date with what’s been going on, but find it hard to find the time to write or phone everybody? Use your blog to write everything once, and in class we’ll discuss how to get your family involved so they communicate with you too, even if blogging isn’t for them.

Scrapbook with your blog.
Blogs are words and photos. Scrapbooks are words and photos. So really, they have the very same starting point, which means you can use your blog to gather your thoughts and words together and craft this part of your scrapbook page, even when you can’t get to your scrapbooking supplies. When you do have time to get crafty, you’ll have a bank of posts ready to help you. And if you’ve never approached a layout with the words written first, you’re in for something that can totally change the way you feel about the most important memories in your albums.

Make new friends.
Our class is filled with people who love the exact same thing you do: scrapbooking! And they all blog too. On our private message board, you can chat and get to know your fellow classmates and follow their blogs. Leave a comment for them and they might leave a comment for you and suddenly, new friends! There are several bloggers who met in our original class run in 2009 who are now the closest of friends. Love it!

Pretty up your corner of the internet.
Sold on the idea of having a blog but want to make it look great too? We’ll cover all the technical stuff (in an easy-to-follow way) for giving your blog a make-over, customising the look and making sure everything is exactly your style.

Remember little moments you might forget.
Scrapbooking is all about preserving our memories, right? We’ll talk specifically about ways you can use your blog to get the littlest of things you want to remember committed to words as soon as possible so you don’t lose the details between the time something happens and you get around to scrapbooking it. Whether you share your blog with the world, with a group of trusted friends or just keep it to yourself, this is something that makes blogging a fab journal to day to day life.

Something for everyone.
Whether you’re just thinking of starting a blog or you’ve been blogging for a long while, if you love scrapbooking there is something for you in this class. In our first run, some of the most amazing blog posts came from participants who hadn’t written a composition since school and some experienced bloggers pushed their blogs to the next level and even started their own blog-based businesses.

Discuss everything with like-minded bloggers.
When you read a book, it’s been edited by someone other than just the author. But blogging eliminates that step and lets us publish anything we want, whenever we want and from wherever we want. But sometimes a little direction and editing is just what we need to make things have that lovely polish. No scary editors here, but a members-only message board where you can discuss your goals or get opinions on a post from others in exactly the same boat.

Participate in multi-blog events.
One way to bring new readers to your blog is to participate in blog parties or events that jump from blog to blog. Throughout the class you’ll have the opportunity to participate in events like this and even step up and host one of your own. Jump in and have some fun when you see a topic that inspires you!

Continue your learning.
In addition to fifteen detailed prompts (delivered to your inbox, Monday to Friday for three weeks) you can also download two workbooks to continue your Blogging for Scrapbookers experience: Blogging Blueprints is a step-by-step technical guide for making things work on your chosen blogging platform and A Year of Blogging includes a blog post idea for every single day of the year, all written specifically for scrapbookers! Follow along daily or just refer to the workbook when you need some ideas to get your blogging thoughts going again.

And reason number eleven? All that is just £9 or $15! Click to sign up and join us now!

xlovesx

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In the autumn of 2009, I taught a funny little class here at shimelle.com. That class was Blogging for Scrapbookers. I call it funny because when I was working on that class, the first few people to discuss it with me responded along the lines of That sounds cool, but do you think it will be very popular? Guessing that scrapbookers just wouldn’t really be thinking all that much about blogging. I call it funny because actually it is one of my most popular classes ever. Apparently plenty of scrapbookers were thinking about blogging!

Of course, times change and technology moves quickly! So much has progressed since that original class – different blogging options have become popular, existing blog platforms have upgraded or changed their interface, social networking platforms like Twitter and Facebook changed how we interact online. And things have been changing in the scrapbooking world too: we have fewer print publications, more online opportunities and crafters around the globe are still discovering this hobby for the first time. What does all that mean? It means it’s time for something new.

This spring, I’ll be teaching a sequel class to Blogging for Scrapbookers called… well, Beyond Blogging for Scrapbookers. Because we’re going to start right where the original class finished and move beyond that into a whole new realm wherein blogging and scrapbooking are the best of friends at every level.

So yes, there’s a new class. But it also seems like it would be ideal to have a refresher of the original class, either as a brush up or as a prep course if you didn’t take it the first time. If you haven’t taken Blogging for Scrapbookers, sign up now and participate in the class from the 21st of March to 10th of April. If you have taken Blogging for Scrapbookers, you can join in again at no extra cost (and you should have an email in your inbox that has instructions on opting out if you prefer).

Blogging for Scrapbookers includes 15 PDF prompts and 2 workbooks: one that covers all the technical stuff for getting your blog up and running and customising the design and another with a full year of blogging topics specially designed for scrapbookers. You can read more about Blogging for Scrapbookers here.

Click here to sign up for the first class, Blogging for Scrapbookers:

Then there’s a one week gap to gather your thoughts, tie up loose ends and get excited for the new class, Beyond Blogging for Scrapbookers. That class starts on the 18th of April and runs until the 8th of May.

Beyond Blogging for Scrapbookers is a completely new three week journey through the blogworld, with each prompt designed to help you get the most meaning out of what you post, how you post it and how you share those posts with others. We’ll look at what makes some of the most successful blogs so amazing and how you can set and achieve goals that are just right for you, whether that is to write more meaningful content, get more readers for your blog or increase the conversation that goes on in the comments of your blog posts. Since this class doesn’t start until the 18th of April, I’ll expand more on the specifics as we get closer to that day, but if this sounds like it’s right for you, you can go ahead and sign up and just wait for class to start!

And actually, there’s one more thing that some of you may want to add beyond that. From the 16th of May to the 16th of June, I’ll be leading a very special month-long extension of these classes that is just for crafty entrepreneurs. This isn’t about scrapbooking, but rather about how you can use a blog, social networking, online classes and more to develop your crafty business. It’s perfect for etsy shop owners, bricks and mortar store owners, crop organisers — anyone who wants to focus on bringing in more customers and increasing the participation of their existing customers in the world of crafty small business. Numbers will be limited for this group to keep it small, helpful and friendly. If you’re interested in this option, email me (shimelle at gmail dot com) and I’ll send you all the details!

I know this was a class that made lots of friendships — can’t wait to see some of those familiar faces along with new bloggers too! If you have any questions, please leave a comment or send me an email and I’ll be happy to help!

xlovesx

Please note: Class registrations may take up to 24 hours to process, though they are usually processed much faster! If you do not receive a welcome email within 24 hours, please email me and I’ll be happy to help! If your paypal account does not match the email address you would like to use for prompts, you can leave a note with your preferred email – that’s no problem! Otherwise, your prompts will be sent to the email address indicated on your paypal account.

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Today, the first of November, is the first day of the year that I allow myself to jump into the Christmas season. And that’s because it’s the day every year when I get out all my Christmas journals and finish my masterplan for this year’s book. A book that starts one month from today, on the first of December. Not just any book: a Christmas journal.

Journal your Christmas was a little something I started many Christmases ago. The first year it was just something I did on my own as I used my notebook and pen to get through the end of a rough year, determined to take back my Christmas and enjoy the holiday magic once more. And you know what? It worked. It worked so well that others asked what I had done to make the holidays so happy and I told them. They asked to be part of it. The next Christmas, a small group of us completed the very first Journal your Christmas online class. Every year since, Journal your Christmas has grown and I’ve loved meeting so many new friends and learning about Christmas traditions around the world as a result.

This year, consider yourself invited to join the fun.

Every year, Journal your Christmas includes daily prompts from the 1st of December to the 6th of January, the twelfth day of Christmas. The 37 illustrated PDF files are delivered straight to your inbox so you can read them over your first cup of coffee and mull over each topic for a full day. There’s also an archive of the class materials online in case you can’t get to your email or in case something dreadful happens to your computer. And like every year, you can go it alone or be as social as you like, with a private discussion forum where you’ll find other Christmas journallers who will cheer you on and share your excitement, but if you prefer to stick to the prompts only, that’s completely fine too. And like every year, if you’re participated once, you can join us every Christmas for as long as you like at no extra cost.

In addition to ideas for writing topics and styles and notes on photos not to miss, the 37 prompts include more than 300 scrapbook pages to inspire your crafting creativity.

Every year, I change it up a little to make sure there is something new for those of you who keep coming back. This year, those goodies include:
…By request, the return of the photography focus. 37 talented photographers share their tips and examples for taking your best photos throughout the holiday season.
…A brand new digital kit, including 50 papers, 5 full alphabets, 20 square and 20 rectangular page templates, 20 square and 20 rectangular quick pages and more than 100 embellishments. We’re talking crazy amounts of stuff to download from the forum. If you’re a paper scrapbooker, much of this kit is suitable for printing out and adding to your book.
…A selection of step-by-step crafting tutorials for Christmas projects and journal embellishments.
…An online chat party to get things started at the beginning of December.

For those who are joining us again, the class outline remains the same but the prompts are refreshed with new examples and additional content, including tips for how to revisit a prompt you have written about in a previous year.

Like all online scrapbooking classes at shimelle.com, Journal your Christmas includes
…permanent access to all class materials
…private forum for discussion and sharing your work
…prompts delivered straight to your inbox
…ongoing membership — pay just once and participate as many years as you would like at no additional cost.

Because membership is permanent, that means if you sign up this year, you also get access to everything from years past, which includes last year’s digital kits, printable accents and workbook, along with last year’s prompts. All of those things are ready and waiting for you on the forum when you sign up, so if you want to get started before the first of December, all you have to do is click to download and you’ll have everything at your fingertips!

Journal your Christmas is suitable for daily creativity if you like or it can be followed on your own schedule. Originally, the idea was to create as many journal entries as you liked in the first year, then come back the next Christmas and add a few more, and on and on for as long as you wished. Many have opted for daily entries as a way of keeping track during a busy season and maintaining just enough time for reflection and creativity even when there’s plenty to do. Everyone is equally welcome, whether you plan to make one page or thirty-seven. Or somewhere in between!

You don’t need any special supplies to participate in Journal your Christmas. You’ll be encouraged to use what you have and love – there is no set style you ‘must’ follow, and in fact you’ll see a wide variety of styles represented in each day’s prompts. There are guidelines included to help you gather what you will need so you can have your supplies together throughout the project, even if you need to pack up your crafting gear to make way for holiday guests or Christmas decorations. But you certainly don’t need to use a certain album, papers or anything else. New or old or a mix – whatever supplies you would like to use, they are perfect.

You can pay by credit/debit card or Paypal account. If you would like your prompts to come to a different email address than the one on your Paypal account, please be sure to leave a note in the message to seller section with the email address you would like to use. Orders can take up to 24 hours to process, though we are usually quicker. If you haven’t received your class registration after 24 hours, just email me and we’ll make sure your registration is completed and ready for you to get started!

If you participated last year, you don’t need to do anything to join us again. In about a week you will receive an email with some updated info and reminders for you.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll share a few more sneaky looks at what you can expect this year, so keep your eyes open throughout November. You can also see some examples from past participants here. I really did pull out all my supplies and complete my masterplan today, and that means tomorrow I have a special post with notes on the supplies I am using for my album this year. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments and I’ll get right back to you with an answer! I can’t wait to get into the holiday spirit with new faces and alumni in this year’s class!

xlovesx

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For a long time, scrapbooking (and even the odd scrapbooking class) was something I did in my spare time, not my every day. The spare time when I was not in my more traditional classroom, teaching English to teenagers. The spare time I needed to kick back after being my most energetic and my most creative in finding ways to get those very teenagers to embrace things like reading and writing as useful and enjoyable rather than just required.

Now that scrapbooking is my every day, there is part of me that misses that very core of my curriculum and the excitement at seeing someone realise that perhaps writing has an unwarranted bad rap. Discovering that really, putting pen to paper can be an exercise in being in complete control of your world and saying things exactly how you want to say them and better yet – saying them in a way that anyone else could pick them up and understand you completely.

I’ve said it many times: to me, scrapbooking is pretty paper and true stories. I’ve taught plenty of classes about the pretty paper. This time, we’re going to focus on True Stories.

True Stories is an online class that starts on the 25th of October, but it can be completed at any time. It lasts three weeks, with fifteen full-colour PDF prompts delivered straight to your inbox, Mondays through Fridays. From the beginning, there is absolutely no way to ‘fall behind’ or ‘not finish’ because it’s not that kind of class. You can follow along by working on a prompt each day if you would like, but you can also keep the prompts as a reference for when they come in useful for your own scrapbooking, blogging or other story-telling needs.

True Stories covers fifteen different ways to approach your story and commit it to paper. You can use these prompts as a scrapbooker and see your journaling evolve to something that will be a treasure to read. You can use the prompts as a blogger to make your entries feel like honest, unique and compelling tales. Or you can just use them in general as a collection of ways to add a bit more excitement to your writing if you’re feeling like you’re in a rut of writing the same way on every project.

True Stories is a natural complement to all the classes I offer here at shimelle.com. If you loved Something from Almost Nothing, you’ll love that the prompts include scrapbook pages you can create with the supplies you already have on hand. If you loved Blogging for Scrapbookers, these topics will push your writing another step, and we all know that a successful blog can be just as much about the way something is said rather than just what is mentioned. If you love Journal your Christmas but would like to expand your written memories of the season, this will do just that. And if you have been working on scrapping your own story with a class like You Think You Know Me or My Freedom, then there is a lot of content here that would be a happy match to writing from your own memory (though it’s not a requirement of True Stories to just write about yourself). This natural complement is why it doesn’t matter when you take this class or if you use it in the order the prompts are delivered or instead choose to keep it all as one reference and dip into the materials whenever they are most useful for you.

True Stories includes my own notes, scrapbook pages and writing exercises in each prompt, but there are also many special guests. On the crafty side of things, a different scrapbooking star (or two!) will join us in each prompt to share their spin on storytelling — they will share a new layout with you as well as their thoughts on writing. On the writing side, I’ll be joined by Relly Annett-Baker (twitter | bio), who travels around the world teaching corporations and designers how to get the most from words. And she’s a scrapbooker! So she’s the perfect balance — she’s a technical expert with a love of this same hobby we all share. She’ll be sharing her own tips and exercises to bring it all together – and Relly has a wicked sense of humour too! I can’t wait to show you what all these great contributors have helped me build for you, and I just love the variety of backgrounds that we’ve all come from while coming together to share one love: scrapbooks that tell beautiful stories.

True Stories also includes a private forum for class participants to discuss and share their work, including a section for getting feedback on your writing if you would like to share your journaling with others, or the option to submit your writing for feedback privately if you would rather just have some tips from the course leaders rather than share with everyone in the class. Like all shimelle.com classes, True Stories includes permanent access to all the class materials so you can return to the prompts and discussions at absolutely any time.

Ready to sign up? You can sign up at any time and you can choose to pay in UK Pounds or US Dollars. If neither of those is your currency, you can choose whichever you prefer – you don’t need to do anything special to change the currency from your account.

You can pay by credit/debit card (click on the left of the payment screen) or Paypal account (log in on the right of the payment screen). The email address on your Paypal account is where your class materials will be sent by default, so please be sure this is a valid email address. If you would like your prompts sent to a different email address, you can enter this email in the ‘notes to seller’ field or you can send me an email (shimelle at gmail dot com) and let me know if you miss that step.

Class starts on the 25th of October but you can sign up at any time (even if you are reading this later than the 25th). Please be aware that your class registration is processed by an actual person (me!) and that means there will be a short wait before you receive your information. It’s never more than a day and usually much, much less, but I do try to make a habit of sleeping once per day, in general.

If you have any questions, feel free to email me or ask in the comments on this post.

I’m so excited to write with all of you — especially since you’ll never have homework deadlines which means I’ll never give any detentions!

xlovesx

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Just a quick answer to a frequently asked question for this week of the year — can I still sign up for Learn Something New even though it started on the first of September?

Yes. You can sign up at any time and have full access to all the materials, plus it’s a permanent membership so you can continue to participate as many years as you like at no extra cost. You can choose to start our album on any day and use the prompts for any month of the year – they are not specific to September.

And the other popular question — do I need anything specific in terms of supplies?

No. It’s all about using what you have and love and working in a format that is fun for you. This year I’m working with tags and envelopes, and this process of taking bits and pieces from my scrap basket was the start of my album. We also have scrappers creating their books in 4×4, 6×6, 5×7, 4×6 and 8×8 formats, in both paper and pixels. Others use their blogs for their daily entries, write notes in a journal or take a photo each day. You are welcome to use exactly what’s best for you!

You can find all the class details here.

Next week I’ll share some of my favourite Learn Something New blogs with you too — you won’t want to miss the fab projects being posted around the web!

xlovesx

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It’s the last day of August already? Well, that lovely three-day weekend was brilliant and now there are only hours left until it is officially September. But I’m always excited for September as it’s the start of Learn Something New, an online class that lasts all month. And if you can write one sentence per day (even if it’s on your phone or on a bit of scrap paper), you can keep up with this project! Click here to find all the details and sign up!

A few pre-class blog posts have popped up from various participants already. I love this story of someone who paid it forward by anonymously gifting a class membership is so very sweet and inspiring. I love these photos that Christina took to get her in the mood and ready to learn this September! This handmade album by Connie is a fab mix of paper pockets and fabric – I can’t wait to see it come to life (and she’s used super lush papers from Studio Calico that I love). Alissa has repurposed an old book and it looks dreamy! And check out these projects started by Pascale, Tina, Sarah, Chris, Cal, Dolly and Sarah. I absolutely love how everyone adapts this project to a style that is all their own, no matter if it’s something simple or something oh-so-intricate.

You can join at any time but you don’t want to be late, so sign up now and be ready for your first day back to school! Or invite a friend to join you. Class starts tomorrow, the first of September! Click here for the full class details.

xlovesx

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Ready for a summer scrapbooking adventure? I hope you’ll join me for a new online scrapbooking class here at shimelle.com!

Love your Pictures, Love your Pages is a four-week, high-energy journey through July. Each week we’ll be taking pictures and scrapbooking and putting it all together to make something you love.

Starting on Monday, the 5th of July 2010, full-colour PDF prompts come straight to your inbox. There are six prompts each week: the first three focus on photography and the last three focus on scrapbooking — but of course the two go hand in hand!

This is not a technical photography class. There are plenty of amazing classes already out there with people far more qualified to take you through the technical parts of your camera. Instead, we’ll be focusing on options for creative photographs — the kind of pictures that really inspire you to get scrapping. You don’t need a super-fancy camera to take part. The class prompts will show sample images from point-and-shoot cameras, dSLR cameras, toy cameras and mobile phone cameras. No matter what you’re using, you’ll find something just right!

As we start to scrapbook those photos, you can craft with paper or pixels! If you’re new to my classes, it’s worth knowing that there’s never a set of ‘do it exactly like this’ instructions. The class materials encourage you to use the supplies you have on hand and adapt any of the ideas to suit your own style. Of course, if you want to recreate things exactly as you see them, you’re welcome to do that too! Classmates share their work, creating even more inspiration to kickstart your creativity — it’s one of my very favourite things about hosting classes here.

The scrapbooking prompts give you the option of creating stand-alone layouts to go into your existing albums or you can create an album dedicated just to photos you take this summer. Most of the sample pages are 12×12 and can be adapted easily if you would like to work in a mini-book size for this project.

Here’s a look at exactly what’s included in Love your Pictures, Love your Pages:
…24 full-colour PDF prompts delivered straight to your inbox, Monday through Saturday.
…3 resource workbooks: A Month of Sketches with a full complement of detailed page sketches for your scrapping, Camera Basics with an overview of technical basics on a variety of cameras and Photoshop Magic with step-by-step instructions for some of my favourite photo-editing techniques. (Photoshop definitely isn’t required for this class — but this workbook can be useful if you do have it or you install a free trial download.)
…Exclusive designs in printable format for paper scrappers and image formats for digital scrappers
…Members-only access to chat and share your work with other participants, including a special section dedicated to helping you with specific shots you would like to kick up a notch
…Permanent archive of all class materials so you can participate whenever fits your schedule and know everything is always available for you in just a few clicks
…-Special members only discounts to some of my favourite places, including Digital Photography School and Totally Rad Actions.- (Unfortunately these discounts have now expired.)

In total, the class comes in at just under 200 pages of material, even before we start talking on the message boards! You can sign up any time in your choice of currencies: £16 GB Pounds or $24 US dollars. Just click the image to join us:

Class starts on the 5th of July and the message board will open a few days before that — you’ll receive an email with all the details on how to sign in once the board opens!

Do keep in mind that the email address you use when you pay is the only way I can get in touch with you, so do make sure it’s a valid email that you can read. If you would like your prompts sent a different email than the one you use to pay, leave a note on your payment (or send me an email if you forget – shimelle at gmail dot com).

Any questions, just ask! And watch for a few sneak peeks of both the photo and scrappy sides of the project as the starting day draws near!

I’d love to see you in class!

xlovesx

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Thank you so much for the fabulous response to my new class. I have been bowled over by the great things friends new and old have been saying about their new commitment to using what they have so their hobby can be about crafting and remembering again rather than feeling overwhelmed by products! I love it so much when you get a group of people who really love to scrap all together at once. The atmosphere is lovely, even when you’re seeing them via a computer screen!

You can still sign up for the class at any time.

I’ll be back to blogging more in just a day or two! (And in the mean time you can see a little more about this card at the Frog Blog.)

Happy scrapping!

xlovesx

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